Player previews: CB Jai’mier Scott Could be the Badgers' Secret Weapon on Defense

The young corner Scott was one of the most talked-about players at spring camp.

Wisconsin cornerback Jai'mier Scott. | Christian Borman.

Over the course of the summer leading up to Big Ten Media Days and fall camp, Badgers On SI will extensively preview Wisconsin football's roster with a write-up for each player expected to be remotely involved in 2026.

We continue the series with a young corner who was the talk of the defense during spring ball, second-year Ohio native Jai'mier Scott.

2025 Stats

N/A (Didn’t play as a true freshman)

Overview

Scott is the one cornerback that elected to return to Wisconsin and/or didn’t exhaust his eligibility after the 2025 season. Though he took a redshirt year as a true freshman, he made massive strides from year one to year two in Madison by all accounts. Aside from first-year quarterback Ryan Hopkins, Scott probably garnered the most praise during the spring.

“When you look at talent, you look at his footwork and things, he’s probably one of the best I’ve ever been around, footwork-wise,” secondary coach Paul Haynes said. 

“He just needed to mature a little bit with the consistency, to do the good things over and over again. But he’s tough, he’ll hit ya. We actually brought him in as a safety and moved him to corner just because of his skillset. He has the skillset to be, I’ll say it again, one of the best I’ve been around,” he continued. 

Standing at 6-foot-1, with good length and size, Scott has been lauded for his ability to do it all. He brings a well-rounded skillset that compliments the clear natural talent that shined through this spring.

“Ball skills, tackling, setting edges, covering, he has all those abilities,” Haynes continued. 

Scott got an extended opportunity this spring with Oklahoma State transfer Eric Fletcher banged up, and he certainly made the most of it. 

Best-Case Scenario

Wisconsin cornerback Jai'mier Scott. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It’s all in front of Scott this fall. He has the chance to lock down the starting cornerback role opposite veteran Arizona State transfer Javan Robinson. 

New cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples has stressed rotation at corner this year, saying he wants to play his corners “to the point of exhaustion” before rotating in fresh bodies. He should have the personnel to do that at least at times, but his starters should still play hefty roles, and Scott could certainly be one of them.

In a best-case scenario for Scott, all of the things we saw in spring ball carry over to the fall. He asserts himself as the best young corner on the team, and he takes the suspense out of the position battle for CB2 opposite Robinson by winning the job rather easily. Then, his talent takes over on the field and he comes out of nowhere to emerge as one of the better young corners in the Big Ten. 

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel might’ve summed up Scott’s dominant spring the best:

“He believes it’s his time now.”

Worst-Case Scenario

Scott’s talent appeared undeniable in the spring, but he was also gifted reps with the ones that he might’ve otherwise not gotten had the injury bug not bitten Steeples’ room. If Fletcher is a full go this fall, and he also looks the part as a starting corner, Scott may not win the starting gig quite yet. 

Either way, the second-year corner has a bright future. He proved that in the spring, and whether or not he gets the reps to prove it in the fall is another story. But in a worst-case scenario for Scott, the other more experienced corners in the room have a good fall camp and he’s unable to win a starting job. 

Prediction

I don’t see the staff being able to keep Scott off the field this fall. Even if he doesn’t technically win the CB2 job, he should rotate in frequently, and not just in the context of a late-game blowout; I expect him to play against Notre Dame in Week 1.

Given the depth in this cornerback room — Florida State transfer Cai Bates could also push for reps alongside Fletcher — it’s hard to predict exactly how the snaps will shake out and exactly what kind of an opportunity Scott will get to make a mark this fall. But given how highly he was spoken of this spring, and how his game appears to have turned a corner at the perfect time for the Badgers, he’ll get his shot. 

I expect at least a few hundred snaps out of Scott, and potentially much more if he’s a full-time starter. There may be a few growing pains, but I expect the Ohio native to prove why he belongs on the field and at the very least, lock up a starting role for 2027.